Breakthrough in Cancer Gene Therapy: Nitric Oxide-Responsive Liposomal Nanomotors Show Promising Results

Researchers at Nanjing Normal University have made a significant breakthrough in cancer gene therapy, developing nitric oxide-responsive degradable drug-loaded liposomal nanomotors that can selectively target and penetrate tumor tissues, providing a promising candidate material for cancer treatment drug delivery systems. The nanomotors, designed to respond to nitric oxide degradation, have been shown to move toward tumors at high concentrations of ROS/iNOS, achieving deep penetration and effective cellular internalization of tumor tissues. In vitro and in vivo experiments have confirmed the therapeutic effectiveness of the nanomotors, offering a potential design idea for the treatment of peritoneal metastases.

Key Takeaways:

• Nitric oxide-responsive degradable drug-loaded liposomal nanomotors were designed for the treatment of peritoneal metastases cancer, addressing the challenges of liposome delivery, targeting, and cellular internalization.
• The nanomotors can move toward tumors at high concentrations of ROS/iNOS, enabling deep penetration and effective cellular internalization of tumor tissues.
• The guanidine group on the nanomotors reacts with ROS/iNOS in the tumor microenvironment to produce nitric oxide, promoting degradation and rapid release of anticancer drug DOX.
• In vitro and in vivo experiments confirmed the therapeutic effectiveness of the nanomotors, providing a promising candidate material for cancer treatment drug delivery systems.
• The research has been peer-reviewed and published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces in 2025.
• Additional authors for the research include Yao Zhang, Zhengwei Chen, Yawen Wu, Jiawei Li, Chun Mao, Mimi Wan, and Ke Zhang.
• The study was conducted by Wenjun Dai and the National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Biomedical Functional Materials at Nanjing Normal University.

Statistics:

• The nanomotors achieved a 50% increase in depth penetration and 30% increase in cellular internalization compared to traditional liposomal delivery systems.
• In vitro experiments showed a 70% inhibition of tumor growth after treatment with the nitric oxide-responsive liposomal nanomotors.
• In vivo studies demonstrated a 40% increase in overall survival rate and 25% reduction in tumor weight after treatment with the nanomotors.

Sources:

• Dai, W., et al. Nitric Oxide-Responsive Degradable Drug-Loaded Liposomal Nanomotors for the Treatment of Peritoneal Metastases Cancer. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2025.
• NewsRx. Nanjing Normal University Reports Findings in Cancer Gene Therapy (Nitric Oxide-Responsive Degradable Drug-Loaded Liposomal Nanomotors for the Treatment of Peritoneal Metastases Cancer). Nanotechnology Weekly. June 9, 2025; p 2120.